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Binary firmware drivers really have nothing to do with the kernel (other than that the kernel loads them into the hardware).
On the other hand, reading the article the author seems to confuse kernel drivers with firmware:
Why? I'ts not my job to write an accurate article.
Maybe the author should have taken the time to write one and I wouldn't have to look elsewhere to figure out wth he's talking about.
On a related note, the linksys example doesn't count since we are talking about hardware for computers here, not standalone units. Please let me know, for example, what network vendors have released their card firmware as open source and what open source firmware the community have created for this. Debian's statement isn't even about having open source firmware, it's about unclear and non-acceptable copyrights.
In http://newscenter.ti.com/Blogs/newsroom/archive/2010/06/22/ti-s-new... they say that Texas Instruments sells "LaunchPad, a complete development kit" and they talk about:
- flash programming, firmware debugging.
- Demo firmware to demonstrate the use of on-chip peripherals, including 10-bit ADC, comparators and internal temperature sensor.
- Open-source design allows developers to create their own hardware based on LaunchPad.
But I'm no expert, maybe someone with experience could confirm if the final firmware is really debuggable and programmable.